Biography
Joshua Kerley is an award-winning artist, designer, and educator specialising in kiln-glass. He holds a BA in Contemporary Crafts from Falmouth University and an MA in Ceramics & Glass from the Royal College of Art, London. He exhibits regularly at an international level, with recent group exhibitions including the British Glass Biennale 2026, Heart of Glass at Galerie Handwerk, Munich, and Mirage at London Glassblowing.
Since completing his MA, Kerley has been awarded the Tiffany & Co. Studiomakers Prize (2019) and the Bullseye Glass Co. Living Edge Award (2024). Examples of Kerley’s work are held in the Special Collections Museum at Manchester Metropolitan University, the Ernsting Foundation Glass Museum in Coesfeld, Germany, and Stourbridge Glass Museum. His work has been featured in publications including Crafts Magazine and Neues Glas.
From 2019 to 2026, Kerley was a Senior Lecturer and Acting Programme Director for Craft at the University for the Creative Arts. He teaches glass workshops internationally, including at Pilchuck Glass School (USA), Penland School of Craft (USA), Espace Verre (Canada) and Bildwerk Frauenau (Germany). He currently works from a studio in rural Wiltshire, UK.
Statement
My practice is informed by the rich history of material imitation within the glassmaking industry, where glass has long been valued for its ability to adopt the appearances and qualities of other materials, including semi-precious stones, metals and ceramics. I draw on this tradition, utilising the inherent properties and behaviour of glass to create objects that move beyond its conventional associations with transparency, reflection, hardness and shine. Through a combination of traditional and experimental kiln-glass techniques, I allow the material itself to guide the visual and physical qualities of the work. The resulting surfaces, colours and textures propose a new visual and material language for glass.
Through a practice that explores the relationship between perception and materiality, I make sculptural and interior objects that arouse curiosity and challenge our comprehension of the material world.